Dalton

Dalton, city (1990 pop. 21,761), seat of Whitfield co., extreme NW Ga., in the Appalachian valley; inc. 1847. It is a highly industrialized city in a farm area. Its large tufted-textile industry was begun in the late 1800s and still remains important; the city is the center of the U.S. carpet industry. In the Civil War, Dalton (Confederate headquarters after the Chattanooga campaign) fell to Gen. Sherman in the Atlanta campaign (1864). The Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is nearby, as is a state park.